Generational shift in the Covid-challenged Bookseller 150

This year's The Bookseller 150—the annual run-down of the British and Irish industry’s top movers, shakers and innovators—is the youngest in the 12 years the list has been compiled, and is comprised of 30 entrants under the age of 40, with the most junior member the 23-year-old Manchester United footballer and books influencer Marcus Rashford. Meanwhile, the list also had record numbers of women and those from Black, Asian or mintority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. 

In total 43 new members have swept into the list, including Knights Of co-founders Aimée Felone and David Stevens, Gleam Titles agent Abigail Bergstrom, author Reni Eddo-Lodge, the illustrator and campaigner Dapo Adeola, Bookshop.org UK managing director Nicole Vanderbilt and Orion communications director Maura Wilding.    

Meanwhile The Bookseller 151st—the de facto person of the year—was awarded to Gardners m.d. Jonathan Little. The distribututor's boss was hailed for his company's stellar efforts in helping Bertrams' customers after its collapse, being instrumental in aiding Bookshop.org get off the ground in Britain and generally "working mightily throughout the most challenging of years to ensure the books kept flowing from publishers to booksellers". 

Tom Tivnan, The Bookseller managing editor who led the selection, said: "A crisis can be very revealing about character. And what we found out about the book trade in this difficult time is that it has oodles of people who have been bold, innovative, empathetic and courageous in meeting the coronavirus pandemic head-on."

Tivnan added: "As always we have people from outside the trade who do their bit for books, such as this year with the BBC's Sara Cox and the influencer and author Bolu Babalola. And Rashford, who has been such a welcome gift to the industry with his fanbase that extends far beyond typical book buyers. He is precisely the kind of person we need to proselytise about reading if we are to expand audiences in a post-Covid world."    

New 150 entrants (clockwise from top left) Dapo Adeola, Abigail Bergstrom, Maura Wilding and David Stevens and Aimée Felone

There are a number of entries which were hailed specifically for the pandemic efforts such as Fourth Estate's Kishani Widyaratna, the London Review Bookshop's Gayle Lazda, and Daunt Publishing's Željka Marošević, who in the teeth of lockdown launched a crowdfunder for booksellers facing hardship which eventually raised more than £380,000.  

Jo Howard, from Mosaic Search & Selection, which is once again sponsoring the 150 and is in its 20th year in business, also hailed the industry's repsonse this year. She said: “Publishing leadership has really stepped up this year in response to the challenges. We’ve seen a new level of focus on employee wellbeing, super-charged innovation and pivoting business models resulting in a buoyant industry. 

“Strong and supportive leadership will continue to be critical as we face economic challenges, adjustment to permanent flexible working arrangements, increased openness and transparency, and we are looking forward to working with publishers to support them following through on diversity and inclusion commitments, particularly at senior levels.”

There are 29 entries who come from a BAME background, or 18% (with dual entries and the 151st, there are 159 on the list), which almost doubles the 2019 percentage. The list comprises 55% women up from 50% last year—which was the first time women were on a parity with men. 

The number of Evergreens, those who have been on every list since the inception, fell from 15 to 12, with that dozen including Four Culture c.e.o. Dotti Irving, Penguin Random House boss Tom Weldon and Waterstones' James Daunt. 

The full Bookseller 150 list is available here.